The Lifecycle Of A Singular Organism (and other short animations)
March 3, 2021 9:00 AM Subscribe
The Lifecycle Of A Singular Organism (and other short animations)
I've recently been trying to make a short piece of animation a day. Most are under a minute, but a few are a little longer. The Lifecycle Of A Singular Organism (stopmotion, 3m3s); Who Of Ourselves Should Be Ashamed (stopmotion, 58 seconds); Risk Reward (stopmotion, 1m8s); A Circle And A Square (text animation, 30 seconds); The Collusion Of Artifice (stopmotion, 41 seconds); Manipulations of Perspective (stopmotion, 1m13s). There's also (many more) inside:
I don't really have the tools or the skills to do things properly, but have been making these at my desk each day, using a digital camera on a wobbly tripod, a ten year old mac with imovie and photoshop, the various stationery supplies and arts and crafts materials I've got lying around, and some old toys and games (which all goes to explain the repetition of setting, objects and themes). I can't do sound (especially not voices), so that's why some of these are subtitled rather than narrated. I use gifmaker to make the animated gif versions of some of these. A couple of these (Magic Trick, And The Stars...) were made using a desktop printer/scanner that doesn't print and only reluctantly scans.
Here's a full list of the ones I've made so far, in chronological order (you can also see these on my website, with the occasional added production note, if you want):
December 2020
Who Of Ourselves Should Be Ashamed (stopmotion, 58 seconds long)
Decoherence (text animation, 1m52s)
A Circle And A Square (text animation, 30 seconds)
February 2021
From Beneath The Sea, He Came Back To Me (stopmotion, 16 seconds)
Zoom (stopmotion, 18 seconds)
The Monster On My Desktop (stopmotion, looping gif - also on youtube)
The Lifecycle Of A Singular Organism (stopmotion, 3m3s)
Those Desires Of Ours We Have Long Kept Repressed (stopmotion, 55 seconds)
Risk Reward (stopmotion, 1m8s)
Book Wormery (stopmotion, looping gif - also on youtube)
Aaaaaaargh (stopmotion, 8 seconds)
Cheese And Crackers (stopmotion, 24 seconds)
Magic Trick (stop motion, looping gif - also on youtube)
The Collusion Of Artifice (stopmotion, 41 seconds)
The Ethereal (slideshow with subtitles, 42 seconds)
(a memory) (stopmotion, 26 seconds)
The Paper Bird (stopmotion, looping gif - also on youtube)
My Favourite Dinosaur (stopmotion, 50 seconds)
Manipulations of Perspective (stopmotion, 1m13s)
March 2021
And The Stars Tumbled Past Like Autumn Leaves (stopmotion, 2 seconds)
Irritating Scroll (text scroll, looping gif, also on youtube) - warning: contains flashing images (and is very irritating)
An Absolution Of Our Own Accountability (text animation, 37 seconds)
Some Much Older Things From Years Ago (in reverse chronological order)
Cat/No Cat (film, 55 seconds)
Comprehension/Recollection (film, 7m44s)
Ursula et Lynn (film made using sequential photos from a broken digital camera, 26 seconds)
The Thing (film, 1m36s)
Into The Fire (stopmotion, 3m21s)
Staring At The Crystalline Tree (hand drawn animation, 1 minute)
Climbing The Crystalline Tree (hand drawn animation, 1m40s)
Dream Of The Constantly Exploding Brain (music video, 2m47)
I can't bend water (stopmotion, 1m20s)
Repetition And Slowness And The Passing Of Time (film, 1m44)
What I Did Today, And Every Day, For The Entirety Of My Like (film, 1m25s)
I've recently been trying to make a short piece of animation a day. Most are under a minute, but a few are a little longer. The Lifecycle Of A Singular Organism (stopmotion, 3m3s); Who Of Ourselves Should Be Ashamed (stopmotion, 58 seconds); Risk Reward (stopmotion, 1m8s); A Circle And A Square (text animation, 30 seconds); The Collusion Of Artifice (stopmotion, 41 seconds); Manipulations of Perspective (stopmotion, 1m13s). There's also (many more) inside:
I don't really have the tools or the skills to do things properly, but have been making these at my desk each day, using a digital camera on a wobbly tripod, a ten year old mac with imovie and photoshop, the various stationery supplies and arts and crafts materials I've got lying around, and some old toys and games (which all goes to explain the repetition of setting, objects and themes). I can't do sound (especially not voices), so that's why some of these are subtitled rather than narrated. I use gifmaker to make the animated gif versions of some of these. A couple of these (Magic Trick, And The Stars...) were made using a desktop printer/scanner that doesn't print and only reluctantly scans.
Here's a full list of the ones I've made so far, in chronological order (you can also see these on my website, with the occasional added production note, if you want):
December 2020
Who Of Ourselves Should Be Ashamed (stopmotion, 58 seconds long)
Decoherence (text animation, 1m52s)
A Circle And A Square (text animation, 30 seconds)
February 2021
From Beneath The Sea, He Came Back To Me (stopmotion, 16 seconds)
Zoom (stopmotion, 18 seconds)
The Monster On My Desktop (stopmotion, looping gif - also on youtube)
The Lifecycle Of A Singular Organism (stopmotion, 3m3s)
Those Desires Of Ours We Have Long Kept Repressed (stopmotion, 55 seconds)
Risk Reward (stopmotion, 1m8s)
Book Wormery (stopmotion, looping gif - also on youtube)
Aaaaaaargh (stopmotion, 8 seconds)
Cheese And Crackers (stopmotion, 24 seconds)
Magic Trick (stop motion, looping gif - also on youtube)
The Collusion Of Artifice (stopmotion, 41 seconds)
The Ethereal (slideshow with subtitles, 42 seconds)
(a memory) (stopmotion, 26 seconds)
The Paper Bird (stopmotion, looping gif - also on youtube)
My Favourite Dinosaur (stopmotion, 50 seconds)
Manipulations of Perspective (stopmotion, 1m13s)
March 2021
And The Stars Tumbled Past Like Autumn Leaves (stopmotion, 2 seconds)
Irritating Scroll (text scroll, looping gif, also on youtube) - warning: contains flashing images (and is very irritating)
An Absolution Of Our Own Accountability (text animation, 37 seconds)
Some Much Older Things From Years Ago (in reverse chronological order)
Cat/No Cat (film, 55 seconds)
Comprehension/Recollection (film, 7m44s)
Ursula et Lynn (film made using sequential photos from a broken digital camera, 26 seconds)
The Thing (film, 1m36s)
Into The Fire (stopmotion, 3m21s)
Staring At The Crystalline Tree (hand drawn animation, 1 minute)
Climbing The Crystalline Tree (hand drawn animation, 1m40s)
Dream Of The Constantly Exploding Brain (music video, 2m47)
I can't bend water (stopmotion, 1m20s)
Repetition And Slowness And The Passing Of Time (film, 1m44)
What I Did Today, And Every Day, For The Entirety Of My Like (film, 1m25s)
Role: writer, animator
Update it forever! If I were to watch 1-2, which ones should I watch?
posted by aniola at 6:22 PM on March 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by aniola at 6:22 PM on March 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
Worse Things Happen At Sea took me the longest to make, so watch that please, so I don't feel like I wasted too much effort! But the best ones are probably The Lifecycle Of A Singular Organism (although it's a bit sad, probably) and Risk Reward (which is both about nostalgia, while being pleasingly nostalgic to make). The Collusion Of Artificehas by far the best actual animation in it, but is also the most horrifying, so maybe skip that one if you don't like blood.
After that, if you want to watch any more, I'd like to think they'd all be diverting enough, really. The only ones I'd suggest avoiding are the text animations (especially Irritating Scroll, which is just annoying, and I probably shouldn't have bothered uploading), and These Desires Of Ours..., which didn't really work (due to the immobility of the doll hindering any attempts at actual animation).
posted by dng at 8:24 AM on March 15, 2021
After that, if you want to watch any more, I'd like to think they'd all be diverting enough, really. The only ones I'd suggest avoiding are the text animations (especially Irritating Scroll, which is just annoying, and I probably shouldn't have bothered uploading), and These Desires Of Ours..., which didn't really work (due to the immobility of the doll hindering any attempts at actual animation).
posted by dng at 8:24 AM on March 15, 2021
Update it forever!
Okay, my pleasure. Well, maybe not forever, but here's what I've done since I posted this (i've slowed down a bit, so most of these are quite short):
Historical Love Story (stop motion, 8 seconds)
Worse Things Happen Out At Sea (traditional animation, 18 seconds - also as a looping gif)
No Things Happen Out At Sea (this is the same as above but before the boats were added - traditional animation, 19 seconds)
The Earth A Mere Bubble Floating In The Silent Sky (quick sketch animation, 14 seconds - also as a looping gif)
Light & Sound (film, 45 seconds - please note: this has a constant high pitched tone throughout, and is therefore pretty irritating if you can hear it)
Toby Vok - The Unbearable Smell Of The Witch (Official Video) - (stopmotion/shadows, 6 minutes 29 seconds - although there's only really about 3 seconds of animation, and it just loops for the duration of the song)
Retrieved Footage Of The Exploration Of A High Gravity Moon (stopmotion/shadows, looping gif - also on youtube)
Decompression Incidents #413-#682 (stopmotion/shadows, looping gif - also on youtube)
Transportation Chamber (stardate 743.21.453.2.33.0) (stopmotion/shadows, looping gif - also on youtube)
Pong Infinite (livestream) (quick sketch animation, looping gif - also on youtube)
Amoebal (stopmotion/shadows, looping gif - also on youtube)
And that's everything i've done so far. If that's still not enough, and you inexplicably want to watch even more, you can follow me on youtube, twitter, patreon, or my website, where I'll post anything new as soon as I'm done.
posted by dng at 8:47 AM on March 15, 2021
Okay, my pleasure. Well, maybe not forever, but here's what I've done since I posted this (i've slowed down a bit, so most of these are quite short):
Historical Love Story (stop motion, 8 seconds)
Worse Things Happen Out At Sea (traditional animation, 18 seconds - also as a looping gif)
No Things Happen Out At Sea (this is the same as above but before the boats were added - traditional animation, 19 seconds)
The Earth A Mere Bubble Floating In The Silent Sky (quick sketch animation, 14 seconds - also as a looping gif)
Light & Sound (film, 45 seconds - please note: this has a constant high pitched tone throughout, and is therefore pretty irritating if you can hear it)
Toby Vok - The Unbearable Smell Of The Witch (Official Video) - (stopmotion/shadows, 6 minutes 29 seconds - although there's only really about 3 seconds of animation, and it just loops for the duration of the song)
Retrieved Footage Of The Exploration Of A High Gravity Moon (stopmotion/shadows, looping gif - also on youtube)
Decompression Incidents #413-#682 (stopmotion/shadows, looping gif - also on youtube)
Transportation Chamber (stardate 743.21.453.2.33.0) (stopmotion/shadows, looping gif - also on youtube)
Pong Infinite (livestream) (quick sketch animation, looping gif - also on youtube)
Amoebal (stopmotion/shadows, looping gif - also on youtube)
And that's everything i've done so far. If that's still not enough, and you inexplicably want to watch even more, you can follow me on youtube, twitter, patreon, or my website, where I'll post anything new as soon as I'm done.
posted by dng at 8:47 AM on March 15, 2021
I am impressed by the shear number and the consistent effort put into this project.
posted by AugustWest at 9:51 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by AugustWest at 9:51 AM on March 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm still making these. Another list (if that's okay):
The Day The Dog Unravelled (stop motion, 22 seconds)
Toby Vok - Shadow Synth (Official Video) (stop motion, 1 minute 22 seconds)
A Dream Of Hair (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
A Dream Of Escape (stop motion, 1 minute 32 seconds)
Butterflies (stop motion, looping gif)
On The Lifecycle Of Squares (hand drawn animation/stop motion, looping gif)
Pictures (pictures of pictures, 38 seconds)
It Was Always Going To End Like This (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
Warning: Gravitational Abnormalities Ahead (stop motion, looping gif)
Unpoetic Loop (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
And An Unseen Weight Pressed Down Upon My Skull (stop motion, 9 seconds)
Clock Rockets (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
All Scheduled Events Have Been Cancelled (Due To Flooding) (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
Bounce, Bounce 2, The Waking Cry (three examples/tests of "mirrormation" - which is my attempt at making an animation with a static picture and a moving mirror)
A Slightly Rubbish Magic Show (stop motion, 21 seconds)
Reflections In A Silver Pool (stop motion, 52 seconds)
Balloon Trip (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
We Flew Across A Blazing Sun (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
The Universe In A Drop Of Blood (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
This Time Last Year (stop motion, 24 seconds)
Nowhere To Be And Nothing To Do (stop motion, 15 seconds)
Paperclip Factory (hand drawn animation/stop motion, looping gif)
Is It Wrong To Strike A Match Just To Watch It Burn? (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
There Is The Theory Of The Mobius (stop motion, looping gif)
Shapes And Colours (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
The Waking Dream (stop motion, 1 minute)
The Paper Butterfly (stop motion, looping gif)
posted by dng at 3:07 PM on April 5, 2021
The Day The Dog Unravelled (stop motion, 22 seconds)
Toby Vok - Shadow Synth (Official Video) (stop motion, 1 minute 22 seconds)
A Dream Of Hair (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
A Dream Of Escape (stop motion, 1 minute 32 seconds)
Butterflies (stop motion, looping gif)
On The Lifecycle Of Squares (hand drawn animation/stop motion, looping gif)
Pictures (pictures of pictures, 38 seconds)
It Was Always Going To End Like This (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
Warning: Gravitational Abnormalities Ahead (stop motion, looping gif)
Unpoetic Loop (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
And An Unseen Weight Pressed Down Upon My Skull (stop motion, 9 seconds)
Clock Rockets (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
All Scheduled Events Have Been Cancelled (Due To Flooding) (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
Bounce, Bounce 2, The Waking Cry (three examples/tests of "mirrormation" - which is my attempt at making an animation with a static picture and a moving mirror)
A Slightly Rubbish Magic Show (stop motion, 21 seconds)
Reflections In A Silver Pool (stop motion, 52 seconds)
Balloon Trip (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
We Flew Across A Blazing Sun (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
The Universe In A Drop Of Blood (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
This Time Last Year (stop motion, 24 seconds)
Nowhere To Be And Nothing To Do (stop motion, 15 seconds)
Paperclip Factory (hand drawn animation/stop motion, looping gif)
Is It Wrong To Strike A Match Just To Watch It Burn? (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
There Is The Theory Of The Mobius (stop motion, looping gif)
Shapes And Colours (hand drawn animation, looping gif)
The Waking Dream (stop motion, 1 minute)
The Paper Butterfly (stop motion, looping gif)
posted by dng at 3:07 PM on April 5, 2021
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Worse Things Happen Out At Sea - a hand painted, animated, flipbook style children's picture book (traditional animation and stopmotion, 17 seconds).
posted by dng at 10:02 AM on March 4, 2021